Jacksonville Jaguars associate strength coach Kevin Maxen came out as gay Thursday in what would be the first time for a men’s coach in major US professional sports.
Maxen, who has been with the Jaguars since 2021, tells Outsports that he made the decision to come out in hopes of inspiring others and being true to who he really is.
“I don’t want to feel like I have to think about it anymore,” Maxen told Outsports.
“I don’t want to feel like I have to lie about who I see or why I live with someone else.”
“I want to express my support for people who live the way they want to live, but I also want to live and not be afraid of how people will react.”
Maxen has been involved in soccer for several years, playing for Western Connecticut State University Division III in college before working as a strength coach at Baylor and Vanderbilt.
The strength coach said he struggled with his sexuality in college, but hopes Jaguars players will react positively to the news.
Maxen told Outsports that his soccer achievements should appease doubters.
“I have a very good sense of humor,” he said.
“So, I can joke around with a lot of guys and not take anything personally.”
Maxen said being close to the team’s staff and players led him to the decision to want to leave.
He saw other members of the organization introduce their families, which made Maxen want to do the same.
Maxen said she had been dating her boyfriend, Nick, for over two years and said she felt guilty about not being able to share this part of her life and was struggling to reconcile those feelings.
In February 2022, Maxen reached out to Carl Nassib, who became the first NFL player to come out a year early, while deciding how and when to come out.
“For a while I had so much anger towards myself and so much self-hatred that I thought it was out of fear of what other people might think of who I am,” Maxen said.
“But that was not all. It was anger and self-hatred because I put myself in a life where I lived by other people’s rules and not my own.
“And I was right to be mad at myself for thinking I had to live in someone else’s image.”
Jacksonville director of player development Marcus Pollard had positive things to say about Maxen.
“In a diverse environment, it is a privilege to work alongside Kevin, who is a hardworking, dedicated and successful strength and conditioning coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars,” Pollard told Outsports.
Training camp opens for Jaguars rookies on Friday, and the rest of the team reports on Tuesday.
Jacksonville is coming off a season in which they won the AFC South with a 9-8 record and defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in a memorable game in the wild card round before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round.
